Rectangular pillow with a boy carrying a lotus branch

This three-color glazed pillow bears the lianshen-guizi ("lotus bearing treasured boys") motif, the most appealing subject through the history of Chinese ceramics. In this case, the representation was highlighted on either side by two other elements—a ingot representing wealth and a book symbolizing high rank—to emphasize the desire for prosperous and educated sons in particular. The composition, which frames the picture in a rectangular shape with triangular flowers on four corners, was another ingenuity applied to the decoration of pillow surfaces. The motif emerged on various Song wares with monochrome- or polychrome-glazes and with both mold-impressed and incised ornaments. The three-color glazed pillow with the boy subject was identified as being made at Jiyuan in Henan (WW 1981.1: 82).